Re: Mallya buys out Spyker-Ferrari
Indian excitement over Spyker takeover
Vijay Mallya, the Indian billionaire who is set to take control of Spyker, says the news that there will soon be an Indian-backed Formula 1 team has created a surge of interest in the sport in his native country.
Subject to due diligence, Mallya will buy a 50 percent stake in Spyker, providing a financial lifeline to the cash-strapped independent outfit.
The other 50 percent will be owned by Dutch entrepreneur Michiel Mol, who was instrumental in Spyker’s purchase of the team from Alex Shnaider’s Midland Group just one year ago.
The takeover is expected to accelerate plans for an Indian Grand Prix and Mallya says it has already generated huge interest in the subcontinent.
“The excitement was so huge that there are people waiting in line now with their cheque book in their hand trying to partner with us,” he told Formula 1’s official website.
“I have not heard of anything like that in any other part of the world.
“And when we announced that the Indian flag would be part of the team colours and logo, there was an explosion of excitement romping through the country.”
Mallya believes the deal will be the catalyst for F1 to tap into a huge new market, one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies.
“The real excitement with an Indian-owned team will be the 200 million new fans that India will add to the Formula 1 community,” he said.
“That’s a big step forward for the sport.”
Mallya added that he is realistic enough not to expect a major improvement in the struggling team’s performance overnight.
“Sure, there will be no miracles in ’08 – that’s simply not possible – but as we move forward you will see significant progress,” he said.
But he says he would be willing to ramp up the team’s budget if he is convinced it would deliver better results.
“The deal will be completed by the end of September,” he said.
“In between I will sit down with the team management to come up with a sound budget.
“Just off the top of my head, in a very casual way, maybe yes, the budget has to be increased – and if it is justified and the money is spent in the right way, I have no problems in approving a bigger budget for the team.”
India’s two most high-profile drivers are former Jordan racer Narain Karthikeyan and GP2 driver Karun Chandhok, but Mallya said it was “too early to say” whether either would land a seat.
But he left no doubt that he intends to promote home-grown talent in the longer term.
“An Indian team with an Indian driver would be the ideal combination,” he said.
“In the future I will look very carefully into our karting championship to identify talents that can be developed into potential candidates for the team.”
Another issue that has yet to be settled is what the new-look team will be called – although Mallya suggested that a name change is likely.
“I don’t know if we can keep the name Spyker, as Spyker is a car company,” he said.
“One thing is for sure, I want to put the word India into the name of the team, but I have not really spent time on the name so far.”
Source: itv-f1
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